What smells? Something marmorated.
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on October 30, 2009 - 12:53 p.m.
A new pest might be heading our way, and it’s got a fabulous name: The brown marmorated stink bug. That's marmorated, not marmaladed, which is what you do to toast. Marmorated means “veined or streaked like marble,” according to Webster’s. The November Wisconsin Master Gardener Newsletter notes that the brown ...
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We rule! Well, not me, in particular
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on October 28, 2009 - 7:36 p.m.
This year Master Gardener Volunteers logged 10,605 hours of volunteer service. That's 265 40-hour work weeks or five years of full-time work. Cool, huh? I'm ashamed to say I only contributed about 30 of those hours. That information is based on reporting from 143 certified Master Gardener Volunteers and 23 ...
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I meet an Olympian and make gardening metaphors
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on October 24, 2009 - 4:23 p.m.
The leaves looked lovely outside of the Blackhawk Building on the Rock County Fairgrounds. I wanted to grind them up with a mower and use them for mulch. Ok, I had to write something about gardening because this is blog about gardening. But here's what I really want to tell ...
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Giant vegetables here and abroad
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on October 23, 2009 - 6:32 p.m.
Today I wrote about giant pumpkins. It wasn't the pinnacle of journalist achievement, but it was interesting. A farmer south of Whitewater, Marc Roe, grew a 700-pound pumpkin. The pumpkin is now on sale at Meyer's Farm Market near Milton. While writing about pumpkins I discovered the world of competitive ...
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Next year's colors are.... (drum roll please)
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on October 21, 2009 - 11:14 a.m.
Red and maroon! Woo hoooooo! On Saturday's work day about two dozen volunteers planted 3,500 bulbs in front Rotary Botanical Gardens main building. Horticultural manager and bulb-spacing fuss pot Mark Dwyer told us that next year's color scheme for the front entrance would be red and maroon. One year they ...
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Not there’s anything wrong with that.....
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on October 16, 2009 - 6:04 p.m.
At Thursday’s Master Gardener class, Mark Dwyer talked about landscape design. His first message? If it works for you, if it makes you happy, then it’s OK. He’s right, of course, but everybody has their pet peeves. I know gardeners who..... -Think hostas are passe. As an aside, did you ...
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Hooray! Advances in garlic mustard control!
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on October 16, 2009 - 5:49 p.m.
According to a new article on the Wisconsin Master Gardener web site, scientists are having some luck with a weevil that eats garlic mustard and only garlic mustard. For those of you who aren’t already super bitter about garlic mustard, here’s the scoop from the Web site: “Garlic mustard is ...
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Yet another reminder....
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on October 15, 2009 - 11:55 a.m.
Rotary Botanical Gardens needs your help! Mark Dwyer, gardens horticultural manager sent out this request for assistance. A work day is a great way to meet other gardeners and eat more free doughnuts than are good for you. If you go, you'll also get to see Mark chide me for ...
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Garlic mustard news and advice
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on October 15, 2009 - 11:44 a.m.
This story came in from the Associated press: MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Grab your weed whacker. Wisconsin plant experts say fall is the perfect time to attack the dastardly garlic mustard plant. Garlic mustard is an invasive European plant. It releases a chemical substance into the soil that experts believe ...
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Making a list, checking it twice
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on October 14, 2009 - 11:54 a.m.
Have you started your list? You know the list I’m talking about. It’s the list of things you’re going to do perfectly next year. These lists always contain the financially impossible (hire professional to redo steps through woods to the garden), the improbable (keep up with the weeding) and the ...
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Returning to the garden
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on October 13, 2009 - 5:28 p.m.
I've been out of the garden-both mentally and physically-for a while. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I opened the gate yesterday afternoon. Everything has turned deep red or a shade of brown ranging from off white to deep chocolate. The finches were making short work of ...
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Good bugs, bad bugs and huge library fines
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on September 28, 2009 - 9:48 p.m.
All the new garden books come arrive in the spring—which has always struck me as strange. If it’s April or May, most gardeners are so cranked up they don’t have time to read. If they’re not starting seeds, they’re buying seeds. If they’re not buying seeds, they’re thinking about new ...
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Plant colors and free stuff
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on September 14, 2009 - 1:51 p.m.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac 2010 edition arrived in the newsroom this week. Along with weather information—which I’ll get to in a future blog post—the Almanac also lists “Tastes & Trends” for the upcoming year. According to the Almanac, “People Are Talking About”: -Artwork depicting homeowners’ own DNA. -A combined washer ...
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Green tomato recipes
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on August 31, 2009 - 6:58 p.m.
A couple of people have asked for recipes for green tomatoes. I struck the mother load at an Oregon State Extension site. Green tomato recipes The site includes recipes for fried green tomatoes, vegetable rice casserole with green tomatoes, green tomatoes with green rice, stuffed GTs, spiced GTS, GT ...
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Tomato ripening techniques
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on August 31, 2009 - 6:12 p.m.
OK, OK, I'm sorry to go on and on about tomatoes. But here's the deal: Before long we're going to have our first frost and that means tomato growing season is over. So, what can a gardener due about unripe and half-ripe fruit? Here are some techniques to get those ...
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All I'm asking for is a couple of 90 degree days
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on August 29, 2009 - 3:43 p.m.
This summer—or rather what’s left of this summer—is becoming increasingly frustrating. I’ve had my tomatoes ripen one or two at a time. After some nice fruit early on, my green peppers have been small and thin. Last year we had enough to freeze. A short digression: Peppers really don’t freeze ...
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Um, hello, it's like, August.
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on August 23, 2009 - 10:56 a.m.
Last night, it got down to 47 degrees. Here's my question: HOW ARE MY TOMATOES SUPPOSED TO RIPEN IF IT'S 47 DEGREES!! All I want to do is can tomatoes. Is that so much to ask? Bitter, party of one, bitter, party of one.
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Tomato porn, part 2 and a blight update
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on August 20, 2009 - 3:20 p.m.
Just an update on the obscene tomato: I ate it, biting off the offending part first. Now for an update on the tomato blight frenzy. I asked horticulture educator Mike Maddox about battling tomato blight. I told him I was worried about people pulling up their plants before knowing exactly ...
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Tomato porn
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on August 19, 2009 - 2:51 p.m.
Today's topic: Truly obscene tomatoes. Last night, I picked a tomato with a, um, protuberance growing out of it. The protuberance in question looks like a, um, thingy. If you know what I mean. Here's how bad it is: I considered posting a photo of it, but it was so.....graphic ...
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Favre to Vikings, Cathy to garden
Posted by CATHERINE IDZERDA on August 18, 2009 - 11 a.m.
According to ESPN, Brett Favre has signed with the Vikings. In an earlier blog, I suggested that Favre needed something else to do, such as gardening. Really, if the guy had to battle tomato blight and squash vine borer on a regular basis, he’d forget about football. Please discuss. Irrational ...
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